“You hesitated. Why?”
“Then you expected my answer?”
“Yes, but more quickly.”
“Why do you want to test me?” she asked. “Just leave me alone. Your company leaves me cold.”
“It didn’t used to.”
Alexis got to her feet. “Comments like those are what send a chill down my spine. You make inane remarks about Peach and suggestions about my men and me. You could also stop smirking. You remind me of Lafitte. On him lifted eyebrows and slanted grins were natural and charming. On you they are fraudulent and anything but enchanting.”
Cloud’s dark brows automatically drew together at the mention of the pirate. “You shouldn’t talk about Lafitte. It would be better if you never admitted knowing him,” he said seriously.
Alexis did not catch the warning tone. “That’s as ridiculous as anything you’ve said. He is my friend.”
“You would be better off not having friends like that.”
“I never would have met him if you hadn’t taken me from Tortola.”
“Then you would never have known me.” He paused, then added, “In all the ways that matter.”
Alexis had had all she could stand of his mocking amusement. She ran to her nightstand and began throwing clothes on the deck until she found what she wanted. She grasped the shirt, her reminder of Cloud, and strode over to the porthole. Jerking it open she tried to throw it out but she was stopped by Cloud’s hand on her wrist. “It’s mine to do with as I please.”
He pried her fingers open and took it from her before he raised her chin and stared down at her face. She was fighting back tears of frustration. “It’s mine now,” he said firmly. “I didn’t give it to you to be tossed.”
“Then keep it. Go and take it with you. Make for the door quickly or my dagger may find your heart yet.”
Cloud turned sharply and left, taking the shirt with him. Mike was standing guard outside the door. His nervous stance and embarrassed smile were enough to let Cloud know he had heard everything.
“You’re relieved, Mike,” he said shortly. “Go on. I’ll be here for a while.” When Mike left Cloud stared at the closed door for several minutes, holding the shirt in a viselike grip, before he made his decision. He folded the shirt with the same care he had seen Alex use, and he walked back into her cabin.
She was standing exactly where he had left her, but the fury and tension had disappeared. Her mouth offered a greeting instead of scorn, and her eyes were liquid gold rather than amber ice. A small tremor shook her body in anticipation of his words.
“It won’t work, will it?” he said quietly.
“No. You can’t make me hate you.”
“I can’t stop loving you.” He saw her wince almost imperceptibly. “We have to talk, Alex.” He placed the folded shirt on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bunk. She hesitated, then sat beside him. They half-turned toward each other, preparing for a tentative peace. She started to speak but he stopped her with a look, just as firm and tender as if he had actually brought his fingers to her lips. “There are some things I have to explain to you,” he said gently, “that I should have explained during the first few hours you were here. I have been unfair to you and I should not have avoided you. Did you know I was the one who told the men giving me my orders all about you?”
“I supposed it had to be you.”
“I thought you would, and I wanted you to believe that’s all there was to it. I wanted you to believe I betrayed you. What I want to tell you now is I explained your story in order to keep them from enlisting your aid. I failed. I asked not to be given this assignment. Here I am. The more I explained about you the more determined they were to have you. In that they are not unlike me.” He returned her trembling smile. “We managed to trace your whereabouts by intercepting a message to you from Scott Hansom. When we sighted your ship and saw you trying to trap Travers, I made the decision to take you before anything could happen. I don’t regret it, Alex.”
“It was right for you to do. From your side it was right,” she interrupted softly.
“Alex,” he went on as if he had not heard her. “There is only one man on theConcordI did not trust not to help you escape. Me. I can’t stop wanting what you want for yourself even while I know I have to keep you prisoner. I thought if I could make you dislike me enough you would try harder to get away.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because I realize you will try to get away no matter what you think of me.” He paused and forced himself to say the next words slowly although he wanted to release them as a single gasp. “And because I know what you think will determine whether you’ll ever return to me.”
“You’re right.” She placed her hand over his. “I don’t understand your orders, Cloud. But I do understand you have to follow them. I would expect it of my men. It is expected of you. I can understand that. I can even respect your decision not to allow me to get Travers.” This last admission was torn from her, but she offered it to ease the burden he was shouldering.
Cloud’s intention, when he moved to kiss her, was only to halt her words. When his mouth met hers he knew that it had been a mistake. It had been too long since she had responded as sweetly as she was doing now. He wanted more than a memory beside him at night.
He might not have been able to pull back if he hadn’t felt the tremors shaking Alexis’s body. His lips left hers reluctantly then brushed their dewy softness once more, twice more, and still he saw she did not have the strength to turn her head to avoid him. The reproach was in her eyes and in the trembling of her slender frame. She was frightened by what he could still do to her and frightened by that part of her that wanted him to go on doing it.
“Please…don’t ask me to love you now,” she told him. “I can’t. Don’t even ask me to go to bed with you. I can’t. I will try to escape and you will try to stop me. It is the only part of our past that will be repeated while your orders are between us.”
